Building Services - Waterman

Triple Award Success for Countess of Chester Women and Children’s Hospital

lrichards — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:58:02 +0000

Triple Award Success for Countess of Chester Women and Children’s Hospital

The Countess of Chester Hospital Women and Children’s Building has received three major industry accolades, further establishing the project as one of the UK’s leading healthcare developments.

The £110 million facility was named ‘Project of the Year’ at the 2026 Government Property Awards , ‘Most Sustainable Building Project’ at the Building Innovation Awards 2026 and has also been named the North West regional winner in the ‘Best Public or Community Building category’ at the LABC Building Excellence Awards, securing a place in the 2026 LABC Grand Finals.

This recognition reflects the collective efforts of Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, NHS England, IHP, Waterman, AHR, Alan Johnston Partnership, Ecospheric and the wider project team, who worked together to deliver an ambitious response to the hospital’s Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) challenge.

The three-storey building replaces a 1970s facility and brings maternity, neonatal, paediatric and gynaecology services together under one roof. The project forms part of the NHS’s national programme to remove Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) from healthcare buildings while creating modern environments that support patients, families and staff.

The project’s sustainability credentials have been a major contributor to its industry recognition. Working through the ProCure23 framework, our building services team delivered the mechanical and electrical design, helping to support the wider project team’s ambition to align with the Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (NZCBS).

In collaboration with the wider design team, we developed a low-carbon building services strategy that balances patient comfort, operational resilience and energy efficiency. The new facility incorporates high-efficiency heat pump technology, renewable energy generation through a 400 sq m photovoltaic array and an intelligent Building Management System that helps optimise building performance while reducing energy consumption.

Alongside its environmental credentials, the project has been recognised for delivering complex infrastructure at pace. Constructed on a live hospital campus, the development required close coordination between the Trust, NHS England, IHP, the design team and specialist supply chain partners to maintain healthcare services while delivering a modern replacement for a critical healthcare facility.

These three award wins are a testament to the expertise and collaborative spirit of everyone involved. Together, the project team has delivered a facility that improves outcomes for patients and families today while providing a resilient, future-focused asset for generations to come. As the project progresses to the 2026 LABC Grand Finals, with winners to be announced on 22 January 2027 at Grosvenor House Hotel, London, the Women and Children’s Building continues to set a benchmark for sustainable healthcare design and delivery.

Read more about the Countess of Chester Hospital and Waterman’s contribution to this award-winning healthcare development here.

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Edenica highly commended at Civic Trust Awards

lrichards — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:46:54 +0000

Edenica at 100 Fetter Lane was highly commended at the Civic Trust Awards. Praising the scheme, the judges commented: “100 Fetter Lane stands as a persuasive example of how commercial architecture can deliver broader civic value.”

Established in 1959, the Civic Trust Awards recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. This year, they celebrated their 67th anniversary with an awards ceremony Altrincham’s Concorde Conference Centre.

Designed by Fletcher Priest Architects, BauMont Real Estate Capital’s and YardNine’s 94,000 sq ft Edenica office development harnesses the latest design techniques to offer exceptional building user experience, whilst optimising operational energy efficiency and slashing embodied carbon.

Working in close collaboration with the project team including main contractor Mace, project managers Third London Wall, and cost consultants Arcadis, Waterman’s team provided multidisciplinary consultancy services for Edenica. This saw our specialists deliver sustainability, building services, structural engineering, and environmental input, and the scheme was also a pilot project for the first-ever standardised approach to Materials Passports, developed by Circuland and Waterman’s sustainability team.

To learn more about how we’re unlocking the potential of commercial projects across the UK, click here to head to our commercial sector webpage.

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Bury College’s Woodbury Centre transformed after major redevelopment

lrichards — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:34:08 +0000

Bury College’s Woodbury Centre in Greater Manchester has been totally transformed following a recently completed redevelopment.

Reimagining the existing building, the new facility provides a stunning cafeteria and professional kitchens, social spaces, and new garden for students, staff, and visitors to enjoy. In addition, the Wilson Mason-designed scheme features a new entrance and enhancements to existing windows to maximise natural light whilst minimising solar gain, reducing energy use and enhancing indoor comfort.

Following our successful support for the Beacon Building, our team returned to Bury College once again to support this latest development. Working in partnership with the design team and main contractors, HH Smith & Sons, our team provided building services and structural designs.

Formerly home to the Hair and Beauty department, which was relocated to the new Beacon Building, our M&E design for the Woodbury Centre delivered much needed improvements to the energy efficiency and comfort through upgraded heating, ventilation, and electrical systems, in addition to better insulation, and renewed internal finishes.

In a boost to accessibility, the scheme also saw the creation of a new entrance which is designed to accommodate all users and removing the requirement for separate entrances. Our structures design enabled this feature entrance, with our specialists also unlocking the potential of the revised internal spaces.

Celebrating the transformation of Bury College’s campus in a recent statement, Mike Bromley, Head of Estates and Health and Safety at Bury College, said: “Leading this project over the past three years has been a real privilege. Working alongside our fantastic design team and builders, we’ve made huge improvements across many parts of the College estate. In what feels like three very short years, we’ve transformed the College and made a real, lasting difference to the learner experience. The best part has been seeing these new spaces come to life and genuinely make a positive impact – not just on the college community, but on Bury as a whole.”

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This significant redevelopment will make a lasting difference for students, staff and visitors, and I’m sure it will prove a popular addition to the facilities on offer at the College. It has been a real pleasure to work in partnership with the College in recent years to help them achieve their goal for delivering a more sustainable campus, and we look forward to working closely with them once again in the future.

Waterman’s Director for Building Services, Tim Davies

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Loreto College

lrichards — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:29:44 +0000

Established in 1851, Hulme’s Loreto College has become a cornerstone of secondary education for Manchester’s young people as they look to build towards a future in education or the world of work. To keep pace with their growing popularity and breadth of course offerings, the College has continually evolved its estate to incorporate leading-edge buildings and facilities.

Working in collaboration with the College as their trusted engineering partner since 2008, our building services specialists first supported the design and delivery of the Ellis & Kennedy building, which was named as the 2010 BREEAM ‘Education Building of the Year’. Next, we helped tackle extensive renovations of both the Ball and Ward buildings, before providing design and consultancy input for the construction of the St Joseph’s building.

Fast forward to the current day, and our partnership with Loreto College shifted focus to the southern area of their campus with the St. Vincent’s building, which completed in the summer of 2025. Designed by 10architects, the major scheme delivered state-of the-art facilities across three floors, with the brand new, 24,000 sq ft teaching block accommodating an additional 264 students. Spread across three storeys, the building features 20 fully equipped classrooms, several staff rooms, a spacious assembly area, and a study centre which significantly enhances the learning environment.

Continuing our successful relationship with the College and 10architects, our team provided building services designs for this significant building. With sustainability a key project theme, our specialists focused on reducing operational carbon emissions and minimising energy consumption in use. This saw the installation of air source heat pumps, 100 sqm of photovoltaic panels, and a passive natural ventilation system with night cooling. Together with a highly efficient building envelope, these measures deliver a 45% improvement over current Part L CO₂ targets.

In a further boost to the facilities on offer in the campus’ southern area, the most recent development saw the construction of a compact new stand-alone catering facility. Known as ‘Our Lady’s’, this sits adjacent to the St. Vincent’s building and provides a kitchen space and break-out area for students. Our team provided the building services design for this scheme which completed in September 2025, once again seeing us work with 10architects to deliver a highly functional catering facility.

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